I started this blog for me - it expanded to show BFF Jackie what I was doing - and a few others have invited themselves too - everybody welcome!
Mostly about patchwork, with random comments about embroidery, family and life in general, come on in, put your feet up, and I'll put the [virtual] kettle on.

Saturday, 17 November 2018

My friend Sharon came to a playdate here - she particularly wanted to work on a quilt for her husband

This is the quilt once it had been basted (isn't it fab - her first quilt!)

First though she needed cuddles with the cat!

We had planned the playdate for Crafty Church day so we could use the tables on the pew backs! We taped down the backing and then spray basted the wadding

The surface is quite high so Sharon went up on the surface on her hands and knees!!!

Then we took the whole lot upstairs and she started sewing. She stitched through tea break, everyone else's goodbyes and me putting everything away. I didn't get a pic of the quilting (in the ditch) but it looks so good!

She needs to finish the quilting, then we'll add borders (and embroider his name at the top and hers at the bottom) then it can be bound ready for Christmas (yayhay - we'll need another playdate!)

Friday, 16 November 2018

We made these cute birds at Richmond and Kew on Monday: whilst hearing about the results from the Quilt Exhibition. We took over £6000 - and 1/4 of that was from the bric-a-brak (aka crap) stall - that's all going to charity: isn't that an amazing total. Just over 600 people came through the doors so they spent and average of £10 each!

I have been working on customer embroideries - tese pathes are for scarves for the football club

and there were zippies and hoodies for them too plus polo shirts and big patches for table cloths for the museum

The village turnout for the 100 Years Remembrance of WW1 was great, and our girls helped 91 year old nanny lay her cross.

I made a sewing machine needle organiser and some scissor tags for a secret santa gift at Richmond and Kew Quilters

And Mr Postie delivered a lovely squishie of zips from Zipit at Etsy.

Plum gave me a whole load more 1.5" squares for mine and Jackie's mini quilt

Saturday, 10 November 2018

I set up a board for Triaxial Weaving for the weaving sessions at Chertsey Museum, and I have learned a lot (mostly from mistakes). This is possibly less of a tutorial and more of a "things I would do differently next time" post!

Preparing the board (4 layers of corrugated card clipped together)- I started trying to draw the lines to make perfect triangles: with prefect points - no point, you just need some lines to be parallel to. Consider using some fusible stabilizer / interfacing as the top layer of your base if you can drawer the lines on what you have (you'll see why later)

I zigzagged the warp (vertical) ribbons to a piece of ribbon: that worked well but I should have done that as a long edge not a short edge. I pinned each end of the ribbons - I switched later to drawing pins / thumb tacks - they were much better as they could go down into the board rather than having to go in at a steep angle

I started weaving red: two under, one over. Then (according to people on Pinterest) the third colour (green) goes two over and one under (I clearly ignored that instruction at top left)

But I didn't find it quite as simple as that!

Yes the green went over two blues and then under one, but what about the pesky reds? I kept saying to myself 'under the bottom of a red diamond, under the blue and under the top of the next red diamond' (it mostly worked best in two stages: working from right to left on the next pic I would go under the bottom edge of a red diamond and under a blue, then bring the ribbon out before it snuck under the next blue, then send it under the top half of the next red diamond

This pic shows it better and also shows my secret weapon - masking tape oper the leading edge of the ribbon I was working with - it behaved like a broad flat needle.

What else did I learn? Cut the ribbon on an angle or you get a frayed bit which doesn't look pretty

When you have done all you can do, and have checked and re-woven every £$%^&* mistake, sit back and admire what you have done!

Now it just needs to come off the board!

All that dratted ribbon wants to do is come un-woven! This is where I wished I had laid down some fusible stabiliser under the ribbon - but I didn't, and my time machine is out of batteries so I had to think of a plan B. I THOUGHT the reverse would be as perfect as the front but as this is my first attempt I couldn't be sure. I used some press'n'seal (sort of tacky clingfilm) on the front

and carefully flipped the weaving over - all correct, except I hadn't considered that the back of the ribbon is matt rather than shiney!

I decided to love the mattness of the reverse. I ironed fusible stabiliser on the front and pressed with some scrap fabric on top (do remember to put fusible stuff adhesive side down, and if you forget the first time try and learn from your mistakes and not d it again!!!)

I pressed from the middle out removing pins as late as possible so nothing (not too much) moved

Saturday, 3 November 2018

I taught a family learning class today - each child using a pair of jeans as a starting point and seeing how they could recycle them into something else.- I really don't know why I make up samples as the kids are SO much better at coming up with ideas!

Friday, 2 November 2018

I forgot to blog about fiddle necklace we made for Jackie's daughter and granddaughter. Little Leah is at an age that she wants to be holding something while she is feeding - and Sabrina would rather it wasn't part of her anatomy! We saw 'fiddle necklaces' on Amazon at a ridiculous price so made a bead necklace for Sabrina to wear while she's feeding Leah - it looks as if it's working!

I have started on some more tiny blocks

It's not often I spend time with customers but Amanda wanted these labels done asap so she could attach them to quits before they cadged a left to the long arm quilter's - so she came to collect them to save a delay on posting. We had a lovely afternoon sharing quilting ideas, and she seemed very happy with the three labels.

On Friday Chertsey Museum hosted the second weaving Fun With Fabric and lots of lovely project were started, worked on and completed

I think this chunky weave is my favourite though!

I didn't show this project carrier Jackie made me - four 'pages' and each one is a really good size vinyl zippy pouch. My La Pass project has moved in as it was out growing it's previous storage.

As La Pass and been renamed Not La Pass. It's nothing like the original idea but it will now be put together as 6 large cogs and 10 small ones. I'm adding the black EPP shapes in hopefully the right places

And they will fit together like this. I think I will maintain the funky shape, and make a collar of pentagons that will be a border on the back